The United Nations has revealed that more than 16,000 people have been killed in Haiti since January 2022 as gang-related violence continues to devastate the country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday that an additional 7,000 people have been injured, warning that “the worst may be yet to come” if the crisis deepens. He described the human rights situation as having “reached a boiling point,” with gangs spreading terror beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The UN Security Council this week approved a resolution upgrading its current Haiti mission into a larger international force with up to 5,500 uniformed personnel, including soldiers and police officers. The move aims to reinforce law and order in a nation plagued by murders, rapes, kidnappings, and political instability.
Turk raised concern over the Haitian government’s increased use of explosive drones in anti-gang operations. Between March and mid-September, drone strikes killed at least 559 people, including 11 children, with most of the attacks “likely unlawful under international human rights law,” he said.
He also noted that vigilante groups and crowds have killed more than 500 suspected gang members this year alone, further fuelling what he described as a “spiral of violence” between gangs, civilians, and security forces.
The UN has warned that without urgent international backing, the escalating unrest risks destabilising the wider Caribbean region.
